


There's Nothing You Would Not Provide

by bertie456 (bertee)



Series: Bones: You're Lovely to Me [10]
Category: Bones (TV)
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-09-01
Updated: 2008-09-01
Packaged: 2017-10-27 20:17:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/299645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bertee/pseuds/bertie456





	There's Nothing You Would Not Provide

"FBI; stop or I will shoot!"

Booth's voice was drowned out by the pounding rain and violent wind, but even if the suspect heard, he wasn't about to comply with the request. Sighing in annoyance, Booth lowered his gun and continued to run forward through the dense woods, the thin beam from his Maglite being the only indication he had of where he was going.

Rain cascaded down from the sky, bouncing off the surrounding tree branches and making the muddy ground, which was already covered with autumn leaves, all the more slippery. The wind shook the leaves that still remained on the trees, causing any water that had gathered there to plummet heavily to earth. Running after his suspect, and away from the light of the mountain cabin, Booth felt his feet slide on the treacherous ground, but stumbled on, cursing as his toes came in contact with rocks and fallen branches along the way.

The lightning split the sky above him, spreading out through the storm clouds like jagged fingers, and he caught sight of the fleeing man a fair distance in front of him, gaining ground as he ran through the familiar forest. The thunder rumbled, echoing off the steep hills surrounding the valley and giving a clear indication that the chase was happening at the center of the storm.

Pressing on, Booth took a second to glance behind him and saw that his partner was still there, soaked and tiring, but following him nonetheless. He continued to make his way forward, feeling the branches whip against his arms and legs as he ran, and he wished briefly that Brennan had just stayed at the cabin, rather than deciding to pursue the suspect with him into the darkness of the woods and thus give him two things to worry about rather than one.

Raising his flashlight again, he scanned the area ahead of him and was filled with frustration when the bright light illuminated nothing but rain and trees. Breathing heavily, he ignored the pain in his scratched limbs and began to run again until he heard a sudden scream pierce through the noise of the storm.

He froze, his mind leaping to the worst case scenario. Turning round, he shone the light back the way he'd come, calling in fear, "Bones? Bones, where are you?" The only sight or sound was the raindrops bouncing off the uneven ground, and he yelled again, panic rising, "Temperance! Can you hear me?"

"Booth!"

Her voice was terse, and quieter than his had been, but he felt his heart leap at her reply, knowing that she was close. All thoughts of the chase forgotten, he moved carefully back to where her voice had come from, shouting again, "Bones, where are you?"

"I fell," she replied, sounding slightly stunned. "It was a ledge, and my foot slipped."

Hearing her speak, Booth followed the sound, shining his flashlight down to the ground in search of a ledge she might have fallen from. The bluish light danced across the sodden leaves and dirt before vanishing unexpectedly into the darkness, and he edged closer to the newly-discovered drop, holding onto the trees so as not to fall himself. Reaching the edge, he shone the light down and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Brennan looking up at him, eyes shielded against the rain and the sudden brightness.

Scanning the area around them, Booth saw how easy it was for her to fall. The hill they were running along dropped steeply away, creating an almost step-like effect of ledges and drops which would easily have been avoided in the daylight. Brennan currently sat about six feet below him and he saw that her face looked even paler than usual as a result of the unexpected fall.

Crouching, he asked with concern, "You okay, Bones?"

Brennan looked up at him, the rain streaking her face like tears, and gave him a miniscule nod as she stammered, "I- I'm fine. I just..." She whispered, almost as a cry for help, "My foot."

Feeling the panic begin to rise again, Booth directed the light to her foot, but saw nothing other than her shaking hand holding her boot tightly. Keeping his voice calm, he asked gently, "Does it hurt?"

She bit her lip and nodded, unable to speak. Still regaining his breath after the chase, Booth knelt on the muddy ground, saying firmly, "Okay, Bones, I need you to stand up for me. We need to get you to a hospital and it'll take too long for me to find a way down in the dark. Can you stand?"

She nodded again, and reached for the tree behind her, pulling on the branches to drag herself to a standing position without putting any weight on her injured foot. Booth smiled in encouragement and prompted, "I need you to walk towards the drop so I can pull you up."

Remaining silent, she moved gingerly to where he indicated, but was unable to stop a wince escaping her lips as she stepped on her right foot. Knowing that something was seriously wrong, Booth bent forward, reaching over the edge and gesturing for her to raise her arms. She did, balancing shakily on one leg, and he grasped her upper arms firmly, before meeting her gaze again. "Ready?"

"Yes," she whispered, and with no further hesitation, Booth pulled hard, dragging her over the ledge before dropping to the ground beside her, both of them muddied and soaked.

The agent sat up first, turning his attention to his injured partner as he helped her to a sitting position also and asked in confirmation, "We're going to get out of here, okay?"

"Booth, I'm sorry," she said, her tone quiet and guilty. "We lost Matthews."

He shook his head. "It doesn't matter. He'll show up sooner or later."

"But I-"

"Bones," he interrupted her firmly. "It doesn't matter. We can concentrate on him tomorrow, but right now we need to get you to a hospital." Moving down to her feet, he asked, uncertainly, "Do you know what happened?"

Resisting the instinct to pull away, she let him lift her leg and spoke in the strongest voice she could muster, "I can't be sure without an examination, but it hurts to put weight on it."

After their years of working together, Booth knew that if she was admitting that it hurt, it must _really_ hurt. Doing his best to stay positive, and not think about how he was going to get his invalid partner back to the SUV in an area with no cell reception, he bent her leg, moving closer to her as he explained, "I'm going to take your boot off and I need you to tell me what I'm looking for. The sooner we work out what's wrong, the sooner we can get you better, alright?"

He saw her swallow hard in the dim light, but she nodded and reluctantly let him gain access to her sturdy shoe. After undoing the lace, he carefully slid the boot off her foot, feeling a twinge in his chest as she whimpered in pain. He paused upon seeing her sock, knowing that it would hurt to remove it.

"Bones, I'm going to take your sock off now. It's going to hurt, but it's easier if I do it quickly, like a bandaid." He smiled at her through the rain. "But while I do it, you get to squeeze my arm as hard as you can. That a deal?"

Despite the pain she was in, Temperance smiled back, saying tiredly, "You don't need to patronise me, Booth."

The agent grinned. "Hey, I'm just trying to be fair here. I hurt you, you hurt me."

He was relieved when she made no further protest, leaning closer to him and holding on tightly to his upper arm in preparation. Sliding his fingers under the top of her sock, Booth took a deep breath and tugged it quickly off her foot, being careful not to jarr it too much. Brennan bit back a sob as he did so, her fingers digging tightly into his arm and her head resting against his shoulder as she closed her eyes.

Shining the light on her foot, Booth's eyes widened at the sight. Not wanting to alarm her, he began to describe what he saw in the most clinical terms he could manage. "Okay, your heel and ankle are swollen; I don't think we'll be able to get your boot back on. I think your heel's starting to bruise, but I can't tell in this light. Umm..." He peered closer, finding himself squinting against the rain. "I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be looking for here, Bones."

"Touch it," she instructed, not happy at the thought. Booth gently brushed her bruised heel with his thumb, and she couldn't stop herself from gripping his arm again as she winced.

"I'm sorry," he apologised quickly, unsure of what to say.

Regaining her composure, she spoke again, still in pain, "Is there any deformity in the shape of the heel? Does it look different to you?"

"Maybe," he ventured without confidence. "It looks kind of squished. Like fatter and squarer."

Apparently this was the right thing to say as Brennan nodded. "Calcaneal fracture. Common in falls when the calcaneus is compressed, causing it to break. Often accompanied by extensive soft tissue damage, including ecchymosis, and other injuries, especially to the legs and base of the spine."

Skipping over the longer words, Booth asked worriedly, "Are you hurt anywhere else? Your legs or your spine?"

"I'd need a CT scan and X-rays to make sure," she said, and Booth's heart forgot to beat until she continued, "But there's no pain there so I should be alright."

Relieved, he turned back to face her as he asked, "What do I do now? Should I splint it, wrap it, keep it dry, what?"

She thought for a moment, trying to recall what medical knowledge she had, while Booth sat anxiously by her, feeling the raindrops trickle down the neck of his jacket. Eventually she reached a conclusion. "The rainwater shouldn't do too much damage, as ice would need to be applied anyway. The best thing would be to splint it and use a bulky compressive dressing to prevent blistering."

Fully aware of their lack of first aid kit, Booth looked round quickly for anything he could improvise with. Inspiration suddenly struck and he tugged his backup pistol out of his ankle holster, smiling in amusement as his partner raised her eyebrows, "Booth, I know that people shoot horses when they go lame, but..."

"I'm not going to shoot you, Bones," he replied, before adding teasingly, "Well, not today anyway." A familiar look of indignation passed across her face and his smile only widened, glad that he was able to keep her mind off the pain.

Emptying the bullets into his pocket, he dropped the gun on the floor before kneeling up and pulling his jacket off, immediately regretting it when the rain pounded down on his back, soaking his t-shirt. Focusing on the need to help Brennan, he stripped his t-shirt off and dropped it on her outstretched legs while she just gaped at his actions.

"What are you doing? Put your shirt back on!"

Sliding his arms back into the sleeves of his jacket, he shook his head. "Sorry, Bones, but we're going to need that as a dressing."

Still somewhat transfixed, she watched as he zipped up his waterproof, hiding his glistening upper body from sight once again, and said without conviction, "We could've used my shirt. At least I'm wearing something underneath."

"You're complaining?" he asked with mock-insult. "I give you the shirt off my back and you tell me to cover up? Jeez, Bones, way to hurt a guy."

"I didn't mean..." she stammered awkwardly. "I just- It's cold and you shouldn't be naked when it's cold."

Smirking at her lack-lustre defence, Booth swiftly removed the shoelace from her discarded boot as he answered sarcastically, "Thanks for the update. I'll bear that in mind next time I want to go streaking in winter."

"You've been streaking in winter?" Temperance asked with a mixture of confusion and intrigue.

He winked at her. "That's between me and my snowman." Before she could press further, he lifted her foot back onto his lap, saying seriously, "This is going to hurt again, but I'll try to do it quickly." He met her eyes through the rain. "It's better if I don't stop."

Feeling pain shoot up her leg at the movement, Brennan took a deep breath before confirming quietly, "I understand."

Nodding grimly, he turned his attention back to her foot as she lay back on the forest floor, hands clasped together nervously. Booth gripped the torch between his teeth, and picked up his t-shirt in his hands, glancing over at Brennan one final time before beginning.

Her muffled scream ripped through the woods as he pulled the torn shirt round her foot once before holding the gun against it as a splint. Ensuring her foot was immobilised at the correct angle, he wrapped the material around as many times as he could to hold it in place and keep the pressure on the injury. Brennan clamped one hand over her mouth to try to silence the sobs that racked her body while the other gripped her hair so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

When Booth began to tie the shoelace tightly around the makeshift dressing, she couldn't stop herself from lashing out with her other foot, catching him in the ribs and causing him to drop the flashlight as he winced. Determined to finish, he knelt on her other foot to prevent any further injury to himself while blindly cinching the knots around the bandage to hold it in place.

Finished, he lowered her leg back to the ground and pulled her into his arms, holding her close and speaking soothingly, "Shh, it's over. It's done, it's finished." He felt guilt wash over him as she cried into his chest, and he whispered sincerely, "I'm sorry, Temperance. I'm so sorry." She said nothing, and he stroked her back gently as he heard her breathing slowly return to normal.

She eventually looked up at him, her eyes red from crying and her face ashen from the pain of the injury, but Booth's guilt ebbed slightly as she whispered shakily, "I'm alright."

Giving her what he hoped was a reassuring smile, he asked with feigned cheerfulness, "Ready to get out of here?"

Offering him a weak smile in return, she nodded bravely, "I can walk."

Booth chuckled to himself. "Bones, you are not walking anywhere."

"But how-"

Before she could finished her question, Booth had hoisted her into his arms and wobbled to a standing position. Panicked at the prospect of them both falling down on the slippery and uneven ground, she tried to swing her legs back down, but he held on tightly. Frustrated, she said in annoyance, "Booth, put me down! You can't even see where you're going..."

He merely smiled before carrying her over to a fallen tree trunk and carefully helping her to stand on the raised log. Grateful for solid ground, she regaining her footing before looking down at him in confusion. Pre-empting her question, he explained, "Get on my back. That way I can carry you and still see where I'm putting my feet."

"Booth, this is ridiculous."

"Oh, so you want to walk the whole way back on your broken foot, do you?" he inquired, a playful challenge in his voice. Taking her silence as a "no", he turned round and smiled to himself as she clambered on his back, clinging on round his neck for dear life while shining the Maglite ahead of them. Feeling her settle herself, he asked again, "Comfy?"

"Very," she replied, her tired voice filled with sarcasm.

Picking up on her tiredness, Booth spoke louder, "Bones, I need you to tell me which way to go to get back." She said nothing and he explained defensively, "Look, I was chasing Matthews and I don't remember exactly which way I came."

There was a brief pause before she said with a hint of derision, "It's a well-known anthropological quirk that men don't ask for directions."

Walking forward, he countered with an attempted shrug, "What can I say, I'm not like most men. Left or right?"

"No, you're not," she murmured under her breath, before looking hard at the trees before them and instructing, "Right."

They made their way slowly through the woods, with Brennan directing from her position on Booth's back while her partner did his best to stay upright and not knock her injured foot against any of the trees. To his credit, he only needed to stop twice to rest his back, and quickly learned that it was to his benefit as well as Brennan's for her foot to avoid collisions, since her arms tightened painfully around his neck when he inadvertently went too close to a protruding branch.

After thirty minutes of walking, it was with immense relief that they arrived back at the cabin where the suspect had fled from. Fumbling clumsily in his pocket for the keys, Booth managed to open the car and carry Brennan round to the passenger side before depositing her carefully in her seat. Turning round to look at her, he saw that her face was still drained of color and that her eyes had immediately started to drift shut upon reaching the warm, dry interior of the SUV.

Shaking her gently, he prompted, "Bones, stay awake for me." Her tired eyes opened again and he smiled hopefully, "Just stay awake till we get to the hospital, okay? You can sleep there as much as you want, but I need to you keep your eyes open till then. I'll even let you put the siren on if you want."

She gave him a weak smile as he lifted her foot onto the dashboard. "You're being patronising again."

Still standing in the rain, he shrugged, "Okay, don't turn the siren on."

Her eyes opened fully. "I said you were patronising, not that I didn't want to put the siren on."

Grinning, Booth shut the door and ran around to the driver's side, climbing gratefully into the warmth of the vehicle. Turning the key in the ignition, he headed out of the driveway onto the road to the nearest town and smiled as Temperance reached up sleepily and clicked the siren on.

The lights flashed in the dark night as they sped down towards the hospital, with Booth's eyes on Brennan more than the road. Taking a short-cut through the back streets of the small town, they arrived at the emergency room in less than twenty minutes, but the anthropologist frowned, perplexed, as they pulled into the parking lot.

"How did you know how to get here? I didn't see any signs pointing this way..."

Booth pulled skilfully into a space as he explained nonchalantly, "We've been in this town for nearly two days; I can find my way around by now." He winked at her as he turned off the engine. "Former Ranger, remember?"

She raised her eyebrows in disdain. "I don't remember your Ranger training being useful in getting us out of the wood. I had to give you directions."

The agent said nothing, instead choosing that moment to jump out of the car and make his way round to her door. Realisation suddenly dawned on Brennan and she slapped him on the arm as he opened the door and started to lift her out of the vehicle.

"You lied to me!" He offered no argument, nudging the door shut with his knee and heading towards the entrance, carrying his outraged partner in his arms. "You knew the way back to the SUV! You just got me to direct you so that I wouldn't fall asleep." She remembered the journey to the hospital and the accusations continued, "That's why you let me put the siren on! There's no-one around at this time of night, but you put the siren on to keep me awake."

A small smile tugged at the corners of his lips and she glared at him. "You could've just asked me to stay awake instead of treating me like a child, Booth." Filled with righteous indignation, she shook her head and muttered, "Patronising."

Booth remained silent and walked as quickly as he could towards the door, watching as the motion of being in his arms caused her eyes to involuntarily start to close. Exhausted and weak from the constant pain, Temperance leaned into his chest for support and warmth, and he smiled softly as he heard her whisper, her voice tired but sincere, "Thank you..."


End file.
